Harris KhanNegotiation skills are one of the prerequisites if you are working in the corporate sector. It is one of the key elements that will help every businessperson garner more business and close multiple deals.
However, expert negotiation tactics are not always natural. They come after years and years of practice. That is why we are here to help you channel your inner negotiator and take your business to greater heights.
This article enlists some tips to help you become one of the best negotiators in town and help you close deals with ease.
Check it out!
Create an Ideal Customer Avatar
Before entering into any negotiation meeting, make sure you are armed with your complete Ideal Customer Avatar (ICA) Profile. Your ICA represents and highlights your target buyer and includes the basic overview of that person’s goals, interests, and sometimes even their demographics.
When creating it, try to answer these questions:
- What is your potential client’s biggest struggle?
- Have they tried any solutions before? If yes, what were they?
- What was lacking in those solutions?
- What does your ideal client seek to achieve?
If there is even a single question that you or your teams fail to answer, it’s research time!
To collect answers, you can employ surveys and send them to your prospective and old clients. Then, once you have all the information handy, you can mold it to appeal to your customers.
Negotiate with the Final Decision Maker
Many clients employ a business tactic where they will have you meet with a lower-level negotiator. They do this to tire you and make you succumb to their wants and needs.
Later on, they will reveal that the person you negotiated with wasn’t the one who had the power to make the final decision.
To save you from all this trouble, make sure that the person you are negotiating with is the final decision-maker. This way, you will have to attend to just one round of negotiations and will be able to address the concerns of the clients. Sales enablement professionals can be of great help here, as they can help you identify the key decision makers and craft an effective sales strategy.
Analyze Your Competition
Have you ever heard the saying, “Keep your friends close but your enemies closer?”
It is the basic principle you need to follow when dealing with your clients as well. You likely know your product fairly well, but it is vital to know about your competitors and succeed in your negotiations.
Your client is likely weighing offers from different businesses, and for them to choose your product, it needs to stand out from the rest of the crowd.
To overcome this issue, you need to know all about your competitors – what they are offering, their products’ weaknesses, and how you can mold your products’ strengths against their weaknesses.
Other useful things to know about your competitors include (but aren’t limited to):
- The unique selling point of the product/service.
- Product Features
- Customer feedback
- Pricing
- Strengths and Weaknesses of the product/features
If you spend some time researching your competitors, you will be armed with enough knowledge to counter their points and make your product more appealing than theirs.
Know What You Are Willing to Agree On
You need to understand that all negotiations will not guarantee you success in sales. Though it might be tempting to keep negotiating to win over a customer, you need to learn when to break it off.
This practice will help you ensure that the clients you take on are not seeking to underprice your services or are plain frustrating in general. If you decide to wing the negotiations, you might be unclear and confused.
That is why you should be prepared and should know what you are willing to offer and where you will be drawing a line.
Final Word
It’s not only a sales intellectual who knows his negotiations. It’s all about practice and knowledge, and the above tips apply to several business tasks.
Take cues from the tips mentioned above, and you will see considerable improvements in your next negotiation stint!
Good luck!
